The subject matter disclosed herein relates to medical imaging and, in particular, to a patient support system for transferring and supporting a patient for medical imaging.
Non-invasive imaging technologies allow images of the internal structures or features of a patient to be obtained without performing an invasive procedure on the patient. In particular, such non-invasive imaging technologies rely on various physical principles, such as the differential transmission of X-rays through the target volume or the emission of gamma radiation, to acquire data and to construct images or otherwise represent the observed internal features of the patient.
Traditionally, medical imaging systems, such as a computed tomography (CT) imaging system or a CT/positron emission tomography (PET) imaging system, include a gantry and a patient table. The patient table needs to be as transparent as possible to X-rays used by the CT imaging system and the gamma rays used by the PET imaging system. As a result, the tables are constructed of thin, composite materials which need to support several hundred pounds of weight. The patient table includes a cantilevered patient support (e.g., cradle or pallet) that extends from the table into the gantry bore. However, patient supports having a cantilevered configuration generally have a vertical thickness that may attenuate the radiation (e.g., X-rays and gamma radiation) and induce undesirable noise during medical imaging procedures. For example, the vertical thickness of the cantilevered patient support may have a large amount of material to fill a large cross-sectional area such that the cantilevered patient support has sufficient strength to support patients of various size and weight. As such, radiation dose efficiency and image quality may be affected by the vertical thickness of the cantilevered patient table.